The Two Ten Foundation‘s Women in the Footwear Industry (WIFI) community came together for their final event in the 2024 WIFI Virtual Series this week to talk effective delegation and how it can empower teams.
Featuring Julie Barr of Rack Room Shoes, Sandra Colon of Birkenstock USA, Debbie Donohue of Steve Madden, and Amanda Kirchoff of Wolverine Worldwide, the women leaders spoke on importance of trust, empowerment, and letting go.
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Effective delegation, for instance, involves assigning responsibilities rather than tasks, aligning those with team members’ skills and interests, and providing support and guidance.
“I definitely think that trust [is important],” explained Colon. “Do you realize that if you’re not really delegating effectively that your team is not feeling like it’s really productive, or that they’re learning and growing, and I think that’s what happens a lot, is that the people on the team, they really they don’t feel valued, and they don’t feel like they’re part of the team.”
The panelists also emphasized the benefits of delegation, such as increased productivity, team fulfillment, and leadership development.
“I start with my team’s development plan, and I think about what fulfills them, what experiences do they need to help grow and shape kind of them to be ready for that next step and match it up with their with their career aspirations,” said Kirchoff. “We have a leadership series here at Wolverine called the Harvard Leadership Essentials. And we have a course on delegation, and it teaches very similar concepts and thoughts, and allowing someone to own something from beginning to end and being there when they need you, it also helps them just build credibility.”
They also shared personal experiences and advice for overcoming delegation challenges.
Barr said her biggest challenge when delegating has been letting go of control.
“When you give it to someone else, they may do it differently than you, the end result is the same, but they do it differently, or do it in a different order, and it feels like you’re losing control of the situation,” she explained. “And that’s one thing that I had to learn. Even though it’s different than the way that I would do it, it’s okay.”
Next up, Two Ten’s Wifi will host a networking and cocktail event in New York during December FFANY.
